§288 peace 153
b. An odor in the Word means a perception of something pleasant or unpleasant, depending on
the quality of the love and faith of the entity described: 3577 , 4626 , 4628 , 4748 , 5021 [ 5621 ],
10292. An odor of quietness, in relation to Jehovah, means a perception of peace: 925 , 10054. So
frankincense, various kinds of incense, and the fragrances in oils and salves came to be representa-
tive: 925 , 4748 , 5621 , 10177.
c. In the highest sense, the Sabbath means the oneness of the Divine itself with the divine human
in the Lord; and in the inner sense the union of the Lord’s divine human with heaven and the
church. In a general sense it means the union of the good and the true and therefore the heavenly
marriage: 8495 , 10356 , 10730. So the rest on the Sabbath day meant the state of that oneness,
because then the Lord has rest, through which peace and salvation come to the heavens and to
earth; and in a relative sense it means the union of the Lord with us, because then we have peace
and salvation: 8494 , 8510 , 10360 , 10367 , 10370 , 10374 , 10668 , 10730.
The work of justice will be peace, and my people will live in a dwelling
place of peace. (Isaiah 32 : 17 – 18 )[ 2 ] We may also gather that “peace” in the Word means divine and
heavenly peace from other passages where it is mentioned, as for example
in Isaiah 52 : 7 ; 54 : 10 ; 59 : 8 ; Jeremiah 16 : 5 ; 25 : 37 ; 29 : 11 ; Haggai 2 : 9 ; Zechariah
8 : 12 ; Psalms 37 : 37 ; and elsewhere.
Because peace means the Lord and heaven and also heavenly joy and
the delight of good, greetings in ancient times were—and consequently
still are—“Peace be with you.” The Lord confi rmed this, too, when he
sent out his disciples and told them, “When you enter a house, fi rst say
‘Peace be upon this house’; and if a child of peace is there, let your peace
rest upon it” (Luke 10 : 5 – 6 ). Further, the Lord himself said “Peace be with
you” when he appeared to the apostles (John 20 : 19 , 21 , 26 ).
[ 3 ] A state of peace is also meant in the Word when it says that “Jehovah
smelled an odor of quietness,” as in Exodus 29 : 18 , 25 , 41 ; Leviticus 1 : 9 , 13 , 17 ;
2 : 2 , 9 ; 6 : 8 , 14 [ 6 : 15 , 21 ]; 23 : 12 , 13 , 18 ; Numbers 15 : 3 , 7 , 13 ; 28 : 6 , 8 , 13 ; 29 : 2 , 6 ,
8 , 13 , 36. “An odor of quietness,” in the heavenly sense, means a perception
of peace.b
Since peace means the oneness of the Divine itself and the divine
human in the Lord and the union of the Lord with heaven and with the
church and with everyone in heaven, and also with everyone in the church
who accepts him, the Sabbath was instituted as a reminder of these mat-
ters and was named for quietness and peace. It became the holiest symbol
of the church, which is why the Lord called himself the Lord of the Sab-
bath (Matthew 12 : 8 ; Mark 2 : 27 – 28 ; Luke 6 : 5 ).c
Since heaven’s peace is a divine blessedness that profoundly affects the 288
essential good within angels, it does not come to their open perception